It is festival season in Kathmandu! Dashain and Tihar are comparable to Christmas and New Years, where relilgion, colors, tradition, family, and a bit of madness ensue. Life tends to be a bit hectic around here lately, as I daily try to chew the huge bite I bit off with school, work, and family. But, nonetheless, I've paused to share a bit of what we've been up to.
First, the kites. They are everywhere! The "don't fly by telephone poles" warning I grew up with just doesn't seem to apply here. At all. Originally I thought we'd have to look around for some of the homemade, handmade kites. Then I realized I didn't have to go to them; they would come to me. Since people mainly fly from the rooftops (it's a bit like Mary Poppins up there) we've inherited several lost and wandering kites that land in our yard, in our trees, and tangled from the balconies. We've tried a few times but just can't quite seem to get it -- I may need to add a remedial kite class next semester. We have, however, given our rooftop neighbors a good laugh. [Note: all kites you see high in the air are not mine.]
Next, the festivals bring a lot of shopping, tikkas on the forehead, bangels, some new clothes, days off, visiting friends, and other good stuff. The kids make it all the more fun.
By the way, did I mention that monsoon is over? During monsoon it rains everyday without a break. Then it rained solid for two days and then, poof. Over. We've had gorgeous, sunshiney warm days ever since. They are the kind of days that me a person want to drop everything and go outside. I love Kathmandu in October. To celebrate the end of monsoon, this gigantic slug made it's way under my foot while I was outside frantically sweeping ants away from my window. Addie is quite amused. [Note: this thing was huge! It's briefly curled up because I stepped on him School has been busy. We've had UN Day, UN Peace Day (where all the elementary kids wore white), a regional volleyball tournament where 9 visiting schools from other coutries (yes, countries) came for the weekend, and lots of other good stuff. Things are never dull around here. Oh, and we had our Primary program which went well. 10 kids sang as strong as if there were 50. Even though we practiced once and English is a second language for most of them, they were flawless. Perfect. These are such great kids.
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